Edible emulsified matter such as mayonnaise or dressing is manufactured by mixing and emulsifying water phase such as vinegar, salt, sugar, spice and oil phase such as salad oil, usually by using yolk as emulsifier, but cholesterol contained in the yolk and egg allergy are problems, and there is a strong demand for low fat and low calorie food, and it has been attempted to develop mayonnaise and dressing using vegetable protein instead of yolk. Prior arts about such food include the following.
(1) Prior art 1 (Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 63-32461)
To ordinary bean curd (i.e. tofu), similar product or dehydrated matter thereof, vinegar and/or fruit juice is added, and further 0.5 to 10% of vegetable oil, preferably 1 to 3% of soybean protein powder, and at least one of sugar, seasoning, spice, stabilizer and emulsifier are added, and they are homogeneously emulsified, and emulsified food is manufactured.
(2) Prior art 2 (Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 59-146555)
Emulsion stability of soybean milk is minimum around the isoelectric point, and hence when producing soybean milk from soybean, it is extracted by using aqueous solution of monovalent or divalent salt such as sodium chloride, potassium chloride, sodium sulfate or calcium chloride, and organic acid is added to make slightly acidic, and the resultant is heated. The soybean milk obtained by the above-mentioned special treatment is used as a water phase, and oil is added and emulsified to obtain an emulsified composition.
(3) Prior art 3 (Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 55-99173)
This is a semisolid dressing using soybean protein as emulsifier, and first neutral soybean protein aqueous solution containing seasoning and spice and edible oil are sufficiently emulsified, and vinegar is added by dripping, and emulsification is smooth and a stable dressing is obtained.
Mayonnaise or dressing of non-cholesterol and low fat type using vegetable oil without using yolk or whole egg is manufactured by mainly utilizing the emulsifying function of soybean protein.
In Prior art 1, bean curd is used as vegetable protein, and further stabilizer such as xanthan gum or guar gum or emulsifier such as lecithin is added (see Examples 1 to 3 of Prior art 1).
In Prior art 2, specially treated soybean milk is used as vegetable protein, and further lecithin is added (see Example 1 of Prior art 2). In Prior art 3, soybean protein is used as emulsifier, and further preferably natural paste such as tamarind seed gum is added as emulsifier aid.
Reviewing the exemplary examples of bean curd and soybean milk in the Prior arts, smooth bean curd and ordinary bean curd obtained by conventional method are used in Examples 1 to 3 of Prior art 1, soybean milk of 14% solid content of soybean extracted by salt heat aqueous solution is used in Example 1 of Prior art 2, and separated soybean protein and extracted soybean protein are used in Examples 1 to 3 of Prior art 3.
On the other hand, when mayonnaise-like food is manufactured by using bean curd or soybean milk, as compared with the case of using yolk or whole egg, peculiar greenstuff smell, acridity, and bitterness of soybean are mixed in, and there is a sense of resistance in taste and flavor, and when presented on the market, if the product sells temporarily, the sale does not last long.
It is a technical object of the invention to present a novel emulsified matter having rich taste and flavor, while suppressing the peculiar greenstuff smell or acridity of soybean.
The present inventors intensively studied emulsified matters using soybean milk, and found out the peculiar greenstuff smell and acridity of soybean are suppressed, in spite of an extremely high concentration of solid matter, by using concentrated soybean milk of extremely high concentration of about Brix concentration of 25, instead of soybean milk of ordinary concentration or slightly high concentration such as soybean milk of about 14% as disclosed in Prior art 2, and also discovered that the peculiar greenstuff smell and acridity of soybean can be also suppressed in the bean curd prepared by using such concentrated soybean milk.